British man sentenced to six months in Chinese prison after Summer Olympics protest

A British man was sentenced to serve six months in a Hong Kong jail after being found guilty of causing a public nuisance.

Matt Pearce, a teacher originally from Bristol but who now lives on the territory's island, staged a protest against China's human rights record on a Hong Kong bridge on August 8 last year - the opening day of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The 33-year-old hung banners that read 'We want human rights and
democracy' and 'The people of China want freedom from oppression' on
road signs on the Tsing Ma Bridge.

The protest lasted for two hours and caused major traffic congestion as police tried to remove him.

After a three-day trial Mr Pearce was found guilty of causing a
public nuisance earlier this month but was cleared of a separate charge
of common assault.

In 2005 the veteran activist, who is the founding member of an
organisation called International Action, was sentenced to 21 days in
prison after dressing as Spiderman and scaling a giant television
screen in the Central district of Hong Kong on the anniversary of the
1989 Tiananmen Square killings.